It was a great night for Mexican fighters all round last night, what with Mauricio Lara’s featherweight triumph in the UK, and Luis Nery’s big and hugely exciting winning fight in Pomona, California. Lara crushed Leigh Wood to win himself a world title, while Nery came through hell and high fire to stop Azat Hovhannisyan to earn himself a shot at a world title down at super-bantamweight.
Nery and Hovhannisyan gave us a genuine FOTY contender, with southpaw Nery eventually getting the stoppage win in round 11, this after both guys had traded some serious leather. With the win, 28 year old Nery improves to 34-1(26) and he earned himself a shot at WBC super-bantamweight champ Stephen Fulton (who also holds the WBO title at 122). 34 year old Hovhannisyan of Armenia falls to 21-4(17).
Nery, beaten only by Brandon Figuerora, this via May 2021 stoppage defeat, will need a good rest after last night’s slugfest, yet “Pantera” has already set out his stall as far as who and what he wants next. Quite simply, Nery wants the Fulton-Naoya Inoue winner; these two set to fight in Japan in May in what will be “Monster” Inoue’s 122 pound debut, the unbeaten pound-for-pound star having vacated his four bantamweight titles in search for yet more greatness.
Speaking with the media immediately after last night’s great fight, Nery declared that he is the real monster at 122 pounds, not Inoue.
“I want the ‘Monster.’ He’s not a monster, he’s a mosquito, a little monster. I want to take his mask off,” Nery said of Inoue as filmed by Fight Hype. “I’m the real monster at 122.”
We fans are braced for a very interesting fight between Fulton, 21-0(8) and Inoe, 24-0(21), and it must be said that Fulton is talking a great fight here. The winner against Nery would of course be something we fans would also lap up. And after what he came through last night, former WBC bantam and former WBC super-bantamweight champ Nery deserves a big fight and the big payday that would go with it. Can Nery rule again, for a third time? Inoue really is a special fighter, and if Fulton cannot derail him the way he plans to, then maybe Nery will get the chance to test Inoue hard.
For now, Nery is rightfully receiving a ton of praise – and thanks – for the great battle he raged his way through with Hovhannisyan last night. Talk about breathtaking.
